Social Media – Personal or Professional

A question I get a lot from clients is – how do I use social media? Another question is should I use it personally or professionally and which one is best for what?

Different social media channels are used for different types of engagement and interaction.

LinkedIn is mostly used for business – business networks, business connections. It’s the old “not what you know but who you know”. LinkedIn can also be connected to Twitter so your tweets are posted in both places. I saw a disaster happen here with some people who were using a personal Twitter account and decided to tweet something that ended up on LinkedIn. It’s my opinion that you should keep business and personal as seperate as possible. It’s like drunk texting a boss or co-worker – don’t do it.

Twitter can be used for both business and personal – I have seen it work well for both. It really depends on your organization and your goals.

Twitter is about letting people know who you are, sharing some information and ultimately some personality from a personal standpoint. You can build networks, make new connections and get up to the second news alerts.

From a brand or business standpoint on Twitter – some of the above apply, but it is more professional. It isn’t really about telling someone you had Cheerios for breakfast – unless you are indeed General Mills. You can build brand trust here as well as share information and make connections.

Facebook is the place to be social. Creep on past schoolmates, check out photos of your friends’ animals and children and poke people (that doesn’t happen much anymore by the way – that is so 2008.) Yes, having a Facebook account can help your brand but you have to do it the right way, be responsive and have a PLAN. Your friends may notice that you have been absent from posting things to your wall or checking your messages and just contact you another way. The people who like you or support your brand however, may not be so persistent or forgiving. Nothing is worse than having someone post on the wall of a brand or business and have them not respond. They will be annoyed that they took the time to engage with you and you ignored them.

I am just going to cover those three channels for right now, some food for thought.